I just got back from the SFWA Nebula Conference in Pittsburgh, and I had a blast! (Get it? It’s a rocket pun.) Not only was Martin P. Robinson (aka: Snuffaluffagus) there, but he brought Telly Monster. His performance with Telly Monster and Bosch filled me with awe, nostalgia, and joy. The Nebulas were (much like last year) a complete delight. It was great to hear all the winners’ delighted and surprised speeches at the Awards Ceremony. It was wonderful to hear Peter S. Beagle sing to us and read to us. It was lovely to Connie Willis lovingly roast Gardner Dozois, and Jim S. Kelly do the same with Shiela Williams.

It was an amazing Awards Ceremony, an amazing banquet, an amazing weekend, and an amazing ballot with an incredible set of winners. Wanna know who won? Well….

I want to congratulate all the winners of this years Nebula Awards! And I want to congratulate all the nominees as well. Also, I want to thank SFWA for a great conference. It was terrific last year and it was even better this year!

One thing I really enjoyed this year was the excerpts from the nominated works read aloud by Mary Robinette Kowal and James Patrick Cronin. It was hugely entertaining and a highlight of my weekend. Stella (my service dog) particularly loved it. She loves being read to, and when she heard the stories being read aloud, she curled up on the carpet and closed her eyes. So wonderful.

The panels were a lot of fun this year!

I attended the “Hopepunk: Writing Hopeful Stories in Hopeless Times” panel with Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Michael J. Underwood, Lettie Prell, and moderated by J.R. Dawson. It gave me a lot of ideas, and made me think that I might not be writing dark, dark, dark, hopeless fiction after all. Also, Elsa on this panel proved to me that she is, in fact, an actual superhero. She is a take-charge action star. J.R. Dawson’s moderation and questions were spot on, and left me thinking a lot about my own work.

I also went to a panel on “The Problem With History.” As joked often on the panel, the one problem with history. This panel was very entertaining and Kat Otis (a panelist) brought up a very interesting point on using old conspiracy theory belief structures as magic systems which got my braincogs turning with maximum go-power. Kat Otis also talked about using the butterfly effect system for alternate history ideas, which is also a lot of fun to think about.

I had to skip several panels due to my disability and its need to spend a lot of time laying down, which Stella often told me I needed to do (and I mostly listened to her, except after the awards ceremony when I did not and oh boy do I regret that). But all the panels I attended were great, including also the panel on archaeology and a quick tutorial on how to use the microphone by Nebula nominee Sarah Pinsker.

James and I before the Nebula banquet. Selfie. Photo by James.

I did not go to the Nebulas alone. I went with my husband James, who was a great support, and had a great time seeing people we met last year, and meeting a lot of my new friends. His beard was often complimented, a was the jacket he wore on Saturday night. He did a lot of sketching, and attended some of the panels and office hours that I could not make due to needing quiet time.

James and I are definitely going to the SFWA Nebula Conference next year. After such a great weekend and having so much fun, I can’t miss out on this next year. I have to go. I will be there! So I’ll see everyone next year! Until then, I’ll be reading all your stories, novelettes, novellas, and books!!